It’s been 6 weeks since my last Blog and with a busy fixture schedule it’s flown by! The Robbins currently have 11 points secured in the Nest and as I predicted there has been some ‘ups’ and ‘downs’.

In the league we have played 10 won 3 drawn 2 and lost 5, leaving us in 16th place. All 3 wins have come at home and we have only picked up a single point on our travels and this was on the first day of the season!! If we can continue our home form and become difficult to beat away, our season could become a lot more interesting.

Firstly, my thoughts on the refereeing decisions made during our only home defeat of the season, losing 1-2 against GE Hamble cannot be included in this blog. All I can say is, that during the game there were two blatant handballs one was given and the other was not and we should still be unbeaten at the Nest! Next came a home tie in the Wessex Cup against Hythe & Dibden, where we ran out 1-0 winners and got the job done.

We then hit the road on two consecutive Saturdays and returned pointless! First playing well enough against Alresford Town, where we lead twice (Vinnie scoring a screamer in the postage stamp!) but couldn’t cope with having a man sent off for handball and 2 penalties given against us, we ended up losing 2-4. The following Saturday saw us again take the lead but end up losing 1-3 to Alton Town, but I believe Simba is still looking for his leg on the pitch somewhere, Gully any ideas!?! On both occasions our second half performances let us down and whether this is due to fitness on not quite being savvy enough in this league, we need to get our away performances sorted, FAST!

We hammered Ringwood Town in the FA Vase 9-1, a result that was a timely boost for the lads and now we know why Matty Palmer moans at us for not giving him the ball – thunderbolt! Now we just need him to give us his fine money!! Holmesy’s first game back was a bit of a hit and we now look forward to the next round on the 22nd October where we entertain Fareham Town at the Nest. Only a nine goal thriller followed, with us beating Totton & Eling 5-4, with Craig Lewis’s chip being the highlight and a 94th minute winner from the skip!! Moneyfields arrived at the Nest and in my absence, Smithy led the boys to our third victory in a row, withstanding a lot of pressure in the first half and then Turps continued his fine start to the season scoring his 11th and 12th goals in the second 45 minutes, a smashing return which I’m sure he will continue.

After three wins in a week, we crashed back down to earth last Saturday where we put in our worst performance of the season. For 15 minutes Blackfield & Langley couldn’t get a touch of the ball, Ben Smith notched and then... we pressed the self destruct button, giving countless free kicks away around the area which let the opposition back into the game. Each and everyone of us then underperformed, leaving the squad, Jeff and our travelling fans embarrassed with a 1-5 defeat. We have a chance to put it right against Alresford at home, where a win would take us back up to the middle of the table and interestingly we have drawn Backfield in the next round of the Wessex Cup where we will strive to take our revenge!

Overall we have to take each game as it comes, aim to keep our excellent home form going, start picking up some away points and learning from the mistakes we make. I believe we can really move up the table, as we have only been outplayed once this season. If we can sustain our periods of good pay for longer in games, then the Nest will look at lot more healthier as we approach Christmas.

Please keep up your support as this is the league we belong in and are aiming to challenge in....